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Chester railway station
|image1= |caption1=The front of Chester railway station |place=Chester |local_authority=Borough of Cheshire West and Chester |station_code=CTR |managed_by=Arriva Trains Wales |number_of_platforms=9 |united_kingdom_railway_station_categoriesdft_category=B |2012/13= 0.818 |2013/14= 0.806 |2014/15= 0.920 |2015/16= 0.963 |2016/17= 0.804 |passenger_transport_executivepte=Merseytravel (for Merseyrail services only) |zone=G1 }} Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, with Merseyrail, Northern and Virgin Trains (West Coast) services also operating from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre. From 1875 to 1969 the station was known as Chester General station, to distinguish from . Work on the £10 million regeneration of the station and surrounding areas as part of the Chester Renaissance programme was completed in 2007. The development includes a new roof, improved customer facilities and better access to the station. A small plaque commemorating Thomas Brassey, one of the world's greatest railway building contractors in the early to mid-19th century, can be seen on the wall opposite the new booking office. The station marks one end of the Baker Way, a footpath leading to . Normal scheduled departures from Chester Station are: a quarter-hourly Merseyrail electric service on the Wirral Line to Liverpool, half-hourly in the evenings and on Sundays; frequent services on the North Wales Coast Line (thereby connecting with Holyhead for ferries to Dublin); Virgin Trains (West Coast) to London Euston via and to Holyhead; Arriva Trains Wales to Manchester Airport via Warrington Bank Quay and / / / via Wrexham General as well as North Wales Coast Line trains to Crewe, Llandudno Junction, , ; Northern to Manchester Piccadilly via Northwich and Leeds via Warrington Bank Quay, , Manchester Victoria and , and CrossCountry to from Birkenhead Hamilton Square to , , , and via Crewe, , Birmingham New Street and . History Opened in 1848, Chester General station was a joint station between the Chester and Holyhead Railway, the Chester and Crewe Railway and the Birkenhead Railway. Later these became the London and North Western Railway (which took over the Chester and Holyhead and the Chester and Crewe) and the Great Western Railway (GWR) (which ran the line to Wrexham and Shrewsbury) These companies owned the Birkenhead Railway jointly . Junction Diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Chester (centre, shown as GENERAL STA.)]] Architecturally the station has an Italianate frontage designed by Francis Thompson. The station also has carved wooden owls at some strategic locations high in the roof beams to help deter feral pigeons. GWR and latterly BR Western Region express passenger trains operated from Birkenhead Woodside via Chester, Wrexham, Ruabon, Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Wellington (Salop), Wolverhampton, Birmingham Snow Hill, Leamington Spa and Banbury to London Paddington station until 4 March 1967. The final service, a special named The Zulu, was hauled by the Castle Class steam locomotive [[GWR 4073 Class 7029 Clun Castle|7029 Clun Castle]]. From 1875, Chester was also served by Chester Northgate station (owned by the Cheshire Lines Committee); however, that station was closed in 1969 and is now the site of a leisure centre. In 1993, a line extension of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network was accomplished through the use of third rail electrification. The line ended at the station, and became the terminus of a branch of the Wirral Line, and providing frequent rapid access along the Wirral to Birkenhead and all four underground stations in central Liverpool. The historic Chester and Birkenhead Railway, the first railway to serve Chester then became a part of Merseyrail's Wirral Line. Architecture The station was built between 1847 and 1848, designed by Francis Thompson, and built by the railway contractor Thomas Brassey. Also involved in the design and construction were the engineer C. H. Wild. who designed the train shed, and Robert Stephenson. It is built in Staffordshire blue brick and pale grey Storeton sandstone with slate roofs.Its architectural style is Italianate. It has a very long two-storey façade, with a 15-bay central section, and five-bay lateral projecting pavilions, each containing a pair of towers. The middle seven bays of the central section contain carvings by John Thomas. The station building is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. A small plaque commemorating Thomas Brassey, one of the world's greatest railway building contractors in the early to mid-19th century, can be seen on the wall opposite the new booking office. Brassey was born at Buerton, on what is now the Eaton Estate, some 6mikm south of Chester; the house is no longer standing. Services Arriva Trains Wales Virgin Trains (West Coast) departing from Chester.]] * 1 train per hour to London Euston via Crewe and Milton Keynes Central * Certain trains from London continue to and Bangor * 1 train per weekday continues to Wrexham General *Occasional services to/from Crewe start or terminate at Chester or Holyhead or Bangor Merseyrail * 4 trains per hour (one every 15 minutes) to Liverpool Central via Birkenhead during the working day on weekdays and Saturdays. Late evenings and Sundays the frequency is every 30 minutes. Merseyrail services to Birkenhead and Liverpool exclusively use Platform 7b although occasional operational requirements may necessitate the use of Platform 7a, Platform 7 being the only third-rail equipped platform at the station. These services are all provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 EMUs. The Wirral Line provides a direct service to central Liverpool and central Birkenhead with underground stations at Birkenhead Hamilton Square, Liverpool James Street, Liverpool Moorfields, Low Level station and Liverpool Central. The Wirral Line runs in a clockwise loop through Liverpool's city centre returning to Chester, hence trains may be indicated as bound for Chester whether running north or south. A change at Birkenhead Hamilton Square station gives connections to New Brighton and West Kirby. A change at Liverpool Moorfields gives access to all of the Merseyrail Electrics Northern Line services. City Line services and Inter-City services are accessed by changing at Liverpool Lime Street. Northern Rail CrossCountry |next= |route=Arriva Trains Wales North Wales Coast Line|col= }} |next= |route=Arriva Trains Wales Manchester - Llandudno / Hollyhead|col= }} |next= |route1=Arriva Trains Wales Birmingham – Holyhead via Chester |route2=Arriva Trains Wales Cardiff Central - Holyhead |col= }} or |next= |route=Arriva Trains Wales Birkenhead - Aberytswyth / Cardiff / South Wales |col= }} towards |col= }} |route=Northern Mid-Cheshire Line |col= }} |route=Northern Chester - Leeds |col= }} |route=Northern Halton Curve (one departure summer saturday, northbound only) |col= }} |next= |route=Virgin Trains (West Coast) WCML North Wales Branch |col= }} |next= |route=Virgin Trains (West Coast) WCML Wrexham Branch |col= }} }} or |next= |route=CrossCountry Birkenhead - Plymouth / Bournemouth |col= }} |route=CrossCountry Chester - Ispwich |col= }} Facilities Future Services New Northern Franchise Requirements Chester to Wrexham redoubling Halton Curve Reopening Layout Accidents See also External links Category:DfT Category B stations Category:Buildings and structures in Chester Category:Railway stations in Cheshire Category:Former Birkenhead Railway stations Category:Railway stations opened in 1848 Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Chester Category:Grade II* listed railway stations Category:Railway stations served by Arriva Trains Wales Category:Railway stations served by Merseyrail Category:Railway stations served by Northern (train operating company) Category:Railway stations served by Virgin Trains Category:Railway stations served by CrossCountry